1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a tape cartridge installed on the cartridge installation portion of a tape printing apparatus and subjected to printing by the tape printing apparatus.
2. Background Art
Up until now, a tape cassette detachably installed on the cassette installation portion of a tape printing apparatus has been known as such a tape cartridge (see JP-A-2012-126141).
The tape cassette accommodates a tape feeding roller, a first tape spool on which a first tape is wound, a ribbon spool on which an ink ribbon is wound, and a ribbon winding-up spool that winds up the ink ribbon. In addition, the cassette casing of the tape cassette has a roller supporting hole corresponding to the tape feeding roller, a first tape supporting hole corresponding to the first tape spool, and a winding-up supporting hole corresponding to the ribbon winding-up spool. Moreover, the cassette casing has a guide hole for guiding the installation of the tape cassette and two pin holes for positioning the cassette casing.
On the other hand, on the cassette installation portion of the tape printing apparatus, a tape driving shaft corresponding to the roller supporting hole, a ribbon winding-up shaft corresponding to the winding-up supporting hole, a guide shaft corresponding to the guide hole, and two positioning pins corresponding to the two pin holes are provided to stand.
When the tape cassette is installed on the cassette installation portion, the tape driving shaft is fitted in the tape feeding roller, the ribbon winding-up shaft is fitted in the ribbon winding-up spool, the guide shaft is inserted in the guide hole, and the two positioning pins are inserted in the two pin holes.
In this case, the tape driving shaft and the guide shaft largely project from the cassette installation portion, and the tape feeding roller (the roller supporting hole) and the guide hole corresponding to the tape driving shaft and the guide shaft, respectively, are diagonally arranged in the tape cassette when seen in plan view. Thus, the tape cassette is accurately and smoothly installed on the cassette installation portion.
In such a known tape cassette (tape cartridge), if the roller supporting hole and the guide hole do not substantially separate from each other, the attachment/detachment of the tape cassette is not smoothly performed since the tape cassette is inclined. In addition, if portions for grasping the tape cassette, the roller supporting hole, and the guide hole are not arranged in a balanced manner, a force for installing or withdrawing the tape cassette is biased. In this case as well, the attachment/detachment of the tape cassette is not smoothly performed since a twist is caused when the tape cassette is inclined.
The present invention has an object of providing a tape cartridge that can be smoothly attached/detached to/from a cartridge installation portion with its grasping portions and guided portions arranged in a balanced manner.